Embedded Systems

Embedded system was first used in “Building Apollo Guidance System” by Charles Stark Draper at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) in the year 1960; it is one of the modern embedded systems, which is used for navigation and control of the respective crafts. Usage of the Apollo Guidance System is a risk because it is developed by using a keypad and numeric display. It was frequently used and refined in a lot of NASA’s space missions. Then, the Autonetics D-17 Guidance Computer has come for the Minuteman Missile- an ICBM (Intercontinental Ballistic Missile) is used by the United States Air Force. Let’s look at an overview of the advanced embedded system basics and applications. [Read more…]

Matrix Keypad

Most of the applications of embedded systems require keypads to take the user inputs, especially in case where an application requires more number of keys. With simple architecture and easy interfacing procedure, matrix keypads are replacing normal push-buttons by offering more inputs to the user with the lesser I/O pins. As a Human Machine Interface (HMI) keypad plays a major role in vital microprocessor and microcontroller based projects and equipments. Therefore, this article gives you a brief idea on matrix keypad interfacing with 8051 microcontroller. [Read more…]

PIC Microcontroller

PIC microcontroller was developed in the year 1993 by microchip technology. The term PIC stands for Peripheral Interface Controller. Initially this was developed for supporting PDP computers to control its peripheral devices, and therefore, named as a peripheral interface device. These microcontrollers are very fast and easy to execute a program compared with other microcontrollers. PIC Microcontroller architecture is based on Harvard architecture. PIC microcontrollers are very popular due to their ease of programming, wide availability, easy to interfacing with other peripherals, low cost, large user base and serial programming capability (reprogramming with flash memory),  etc. [Read more…]

Traffic Light Control

Traffic lights were first invented in the year 1868 at London’s House of Commons where traffic light signals were placed at intersections of George and Bridge Street. Later the traffic lights were developed in the year 1914 by an American Traffic Signal Company, which fixed green and red lights at corners of the 105th street and Euclid Avenue in Cleveland, Ohio. During this period traffic lights were controlled either by timing or by switching manually. [Read more…]

Boot-loader is a program that runs in the microcontroller that has to be programmed. To load a program into memory, you must first load a program into memory. In some cases, it will be the earliest point at which the integrity of an embedded systems can be checked. [Read more…]